As a Mac newbie, I'm trying to figure out what software I will be using on my new PB. One area of concern is browser software. I've heard good things about IE 5 on the Mac, but what other browsers are available besides it and Netscape? On the PC (where I am coming from), IE works good, but is a space and memory hog. How is the Mac version? Probably not lean and lite, if I know MS...

Can someone please briefly explain to a newbie some of the pros and cons of the various Mac browsers?

Thanks,
PrivateCitizen

[slboett]

IE 5 is a really good browser. It's not the fastest - but it's pretty good. It uses lots o' RAM, but has the best feature set so far.
Now, here's the way to go: iCab. It's a beta-level browser, but is damn fast and really stable. Some java stuff is still broken, but it's my daily browser of choice.
I'd load IE 5 and iCab 2 (beta).
http://www.versiontracker.com

Scott

PS - and iCab uses very little RAM and does not bloat near as much over time as other browsers

[This message has been edited by slboett (edited 06-20-2000).]

[wlonh]

and iCab uses very little RAM and does not bloat near as much over time as other browsers

iCab, eh? OK, I will be checking it out (I won't get the PB for another few weeks).

On the PC side, I've tried Opera, and it has some nice aspects to it, including speed, and not being crammed with worthless features.

So I'm perfectly willing to try less-known software, as long as it does the job.

So what makes IE5 so wonderful for the Mac? What does it do, for instance, that iCab does not?

PrivateCitizen

[wlonh]

at the moment, javascript implementation is somewhat lacking but it is a great beta and stable and fast...

iCab has features IE5 does not (and i guess it's vice versa) but iCab has some very nice features like kiosk mode and many filter options... all sorts of filter options... iCab is free now but when the 'final release' comes out it will be about $30 US, though there will be a 'lite' version for free...

www.icab.de

[This message has been edited by wlonh (edited 06-21-2000).]

Thanks for the link to iCab. I poked around and I like the spirit of the programmer(s) who is doing it. I will definitely check it out.

I don't need the most thorough coverage of features. As long as I can go to most sites without incident, that's good enough.

What about security features on iCab? Does it have good control over accepting cookies on a site by site basis? Can you turn off scripting if you want to (once they get the scripting bugs worked out)? What about an Aqua interface; is that going to be worked on, do you know?

I'd be perfectly happy to have a 100%-Microsoft-free Mac, if that's possible and practical. As good as IE5 is supposed to be for the Mac, I'll ditch the beast at the first good excuse.

PrivateCitizen

[wlonh]

in short, yes to all your questions re: iCab

[slboett]

My favorite feature while not exciting, is the ability to change the latency (time) of the contextual menus. Also, you can customize the contextual menus nicely.
IE has more flash to it - translucent menus and command-clicking on the window gives you Finder-like ability to navigate sites. I have both and use both, but iCab gets more hours. IE is obviously a product of lots of man-hours and money. iCab is made by guys who obviously spend a lot of time browsing.

Scott

[iMacMike]

After months of tinkering with IE, I always find myself going back to Netscape. Sure Communicator can be a bit of a ram hog on smaller system, but I have 96 Megs and Netscape rarely goes beyond the 32 I assign it. I use Netscape day in and day out with absolutely no stability issues, far from my experiences with IE and OE.

I also like the integration of Communicator. Browsing, email, newsgroups, and web editing all available in one memory space. I've had lots of problems getting IE to co-exist with other running programs, especially OE and Word... probably those damned shared libraries.

Netscape may be slightly out of date on the cutting edge stuff, but I've never had a problem surfing long established sites. It's still my browser of choice.

------------------
I work, I play, iMac!

iMacMike,

What you say is precisely why I'd love to avoid all Microsoft products. If I can find good replacements for surfing, word processing, and email, why would I want to install software on my new machine that is just going to gum up the works? A nice, clean, smooth-running, limber machine is my idea of good.

This is why I like the attitude of the iCab program. Do the job simply and well.

PrivateCitizen

[wlonh]

bingo, Private

hold onto that thought pattern

[active]

I'm currently testing the OS X version of OmniWeb (I think http://www.omnigroup.com) which is nicer, IMHO, than the OS X version of IE 5, supplied on the dev rel 4 CD.

Any other opinions?

And for those who think I'm being extreme by avoiding 'big empire' company products, here's a couple of interesting stories:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/11895.html -- Talks about how Netscape Communicator's SmartDownload component records the files it downloads, the client IP, the server IP, and the time, then forwards this information to AOL without informing the user. In other words, AOL receives a download-by-download report of each file Communicator downloads, its file name, your IP, and the server it came from. This information is passed on to AOL without user interaction or notification.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200....html?dtn.head -- Talks about Internet Explorer 5.5 introducing shortcuts for Web developers that make adding page elements, such as calendars, as easy as inserting a tag. In addition, it's adherence to HTML standards is lacking. Together, the proprietary innovation and the purported faults in standards compliance mean that Web pages created to work for IE won't work with browsers from Netscape, Opera Software and other providers.

So, AOL is spying on us, and Microsoft is trying to break HTML standards so as to make people unhappy with other browsers.

Uh, no thanks guys. It's iCab (or something similar) for me, even if I have to live with a slower update schedule for new features.

PrivateCitizen

[Richard Pinneau]

Thanks, Priv! for the links.
I've downloaded iCab now that I've found their link ( www.icab.de ).
Very smoooooth. And just a beta.
Yes, it's great to support smaller developers who have us in mind! I look forward to paying the $30 for the final - they more than deserve it for competing with the Big (Bad) Boys.
�RP

PS: one thing I've yet to explore is the features of MacNN Forum that enable hot-links like you used. I seem to have misplaced the hard copy of the manual that came with MacNN. Got a clue for the clueless?